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SINGAPORE - Was it Pierre Png misbehaving in public, simply falling to the claws of road rage?
Or just a plain misunderstanding?
One driver had to pull over on the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) when the car in front of him stopped suddenly, Stomp reported.
According to the website, the driver had to pull over after he "gestured disapprovingly" at who he claimed to be Pierre Png, a local actor.
The actor had apparently cut into the reader's lane abruptly, causing the motorist to react by honking and swearing at the driver of the car in front. The motorist did not realise at that point, that the other party was Pierre Png.
The reason for confrontation? Png was upset at the disapproving gesture.
According to the motorist who wrote into to Stomp, Png stopped his car, a Mercedes Benz, on the extreme right lane of the expressway to confront the driver to get out of his vehicle, a Honda Civic.
The actor attempted to take photos of the other party when he refused to get out of his vehicle.
The incident happened at about 3.30pm this afternoon.
In an e-mail to STOMP, the motorist said:
"I was driving on the first lane of PIE towards Jurong when this car swerved into my lane without the slightest consideration that I was less than 10 metres behind.
"Fortunately I reacted quickly by slamming on my brakes and honking at the same time to indicate to the driver that what he just did was dangerous.
"I gestured to him with my hands and did curse and swear at the reckless driver in the privacy of my car.
"Now this alone was a trivial matter that happens on the road everyday, so I did not expect it when the car slowed down dramatically to a stop, forcing me to follow suit as I was only a few metres behind.
"It would have been too dangerous to switch lanes suddenly as we were on the right lane of the PIE and we could have caused a pile-up.
"While coming to a halt, I wondered if our cars had had any physical contact, which would have been the most legitimate reason for stopping in the middle of PIE.
"But neither car had a scratch on it.
"And then, to my biggest surprise, Pierre Png stepped out of the beautiful Mercedes and walked angrily towards me.
"He seemed really furious and looked ready to throw a punch.
"I refused to get out of my car or even wind down my window and merely gestured for him to return to his car.
"All this time, cars were going by honking at us.
"After putting up with this nonsense, I finally whipped out my iPhone and took a photo of him.
"He also went to his car and took out his phone to take photos of my license plate, but I didn't mind since it was obviously his fault.
"We drove off after that.
"I understand that this was a very small matter which was blown out of proportion by his behaviour.
"I would like him to learn a valuable lesson that he cannot act rashly and endanger people's lives over a small issue just because he is a celebrity."
Pierre Png's side of the story
While the driver called Pierre Png a "reckless driver" in his account to STOMP, Pierre Png said that it was driver that had acted like a "road bully".
In response to the driver's claim that he behaved like a 'road menace' in an incident on Dec 3, actor Pierre Png told The New Paper that he saw the driver making a rude gesture in his rear-view mirror.
Png, 37 and his wife, Andrea De Cruz, 34, were on their way to Gleneagles Hospital when the incident occurred on the PIE.
The driver claimed that Png cut into his lane without signalling, forcing him to brake suddenly and blow his horn.
The actor claimed that he had signalled before changing lanes and that he made sure that there was enough space between the two cars for him to change lanes safely.
"I was signalling because I wanted to (move into the right lane) to overtake the car in front of me," said Png. "I had enough space to do it."
"But then this guy floored his accelerator."
Png said he swerved to avoid a collision.
"I looked into my rear-view mirror and saw him flipping me the finger," said Png.
Shocked
It shocked Png and his wife, Andrea De Cruz, who was in the passenger seat, that the driver could be so "inconsiderate" as to not slow down to let someone change lanes.
When the driver allegedly sped up behind the Pngs' Mercedes, De Cruz said she had been "shaken" by the near-accident. But she told her husband, "it's okay, let's drive off".
But it was the driver's complaint to STOMP that got De Cruz riled up, reported The New Paper.
She was upset that the driver had called the incident a "small matter".
In her comments to the local newspaper, the actress said: "I'm so angry. The fact that he can say 'Just because you're a celebrity...' is upsetting."
"It's not that. It's because you nearly cost me my life," she added.
She also slammed the driver "for not having the b**** to step out of the car" when Png confronted him.
Png also told the New Paper that he did not expect or deserve any special treatment because he was a celebrity. He said: "I'm a small-time actor in Singapore. I don't expect to be treated any differently.
"Celebrity or not, you don't go around bullying people on the road."
He added: "I'm not afraid of my name being tarnished because I did nothing wrong."
 
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